LAW 201A/B : Criminal Law

Law

2020 Semester One (1203) / Semester Two (1205) (30 POINTS)

Course Prescription

An introduction to the principles and practice of New Zealand criminal law; an analysis of doctrines of liability including defences to criminal charges; a study in detail of selected indictable and summary offences; and a critical survey of the chief elements of procedure relating to offences chargeable indictably or summarily. (Apart from the rules concerning burden of proof, no detailed study is made in this course of the law of evidence.)

Course Overview

This course will give students an introduction to the substantive criminal law. Students will become familiar with general criminal law concepts, including mens rea, actus reus, burdens and standards of proof, inchoate liability and party liability. The course covers a selection of indictable offences (homicide, assault, sexual offences and property offences), and some general criminal defences (self-defence, automatism, insanity, “intoxication”, compulsion and necessity). General issues relating to social justice are raised throughout the course, including a discussion of issues involving Māori and the criminal law. 

Course Requirements

Corequisite: LAW 298 or 299 To complete this course students must enrol in LAW 201 A and B

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Laws

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Identify, explain and evaluate key criminal law concepts and fundamental principles underpinning the construction of the criminal law. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2 and 4.1)
  2. Identify and apply the legal requirements for a selection of indictable offences and general criminal defences as set out in the Crimes Act 1961 and developed in the New Zealand case law. (Capability 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 4.1 and 5.1)
  3. Develop and demonstrate legal research and analytical skills in preparing oral and written tasks, and in reading and analysing the legislation and cases discussed in lectures and tutorials, and the prescribed reading. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3)
  4. Identify and critically evaluate some of the current issues and debates in criminal jurisprudence and related fields of inquiry. (Capability 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3)
  5. Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills. (Capability 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Tutorial Essay 10% Individual Coursework
Written Sentencing Submission 10% Individual Coursework
Oral Sentencing Submission 20% Individual Coursework
Final Examination 60% Individual Examination
Court Observation Exercise 0% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5
Tutorial Essay
Written Sentencing Submission
Oral Sentencing Submission
Final Examination
Court Observation Exercise
The Court Observation Exercise is a compulsory part of the course; students are required to do it in order to complete the course. It is marked on a pass/fail basis and does not count towards calculation of the final grade. 

The Final Examination is a closed book exam. 

Learning Resources

Casebook:

A casebook is available for purchase from the university bookshop, Ubiq. If you do not wish to purchase the casebook, you will find a link to a PDF of the casebook on the course canvas page. Also, links to the electronic reading materials can be found under the Reading List tab on canvas.

Books:

The prescribed text for this course is Simester and Brookbanks, Principles of Criminal Law (5th ed), Brookers, Wellington, 2019.

In addition, LexisNexis have produced a version of the Crimes Act 1961 which contains all of the amendments consolidated to 26 July 2019. 

Students should also selectively refer to Adams on Criminal Law Student Edition, Brookers Ltd, Wellington, for commentary on particular provisions in the Crimes Act 1961. They should also refer to Tolmie and Brookbanks (eds), Criminal Justice in New Zealand, LexisNexis, Wellington, 2007 for extra-legal commentary (although this text is now quite dated in parts).

The Davis Law Library has extensive holdings of criminal law textbooks, in particular Australian, Canadian and English texts, which may be consulted in relation to particular issues.  

Workload Expectations

This is a 30-point course that runs across both semesters. There will be around 36 hours of lectures in this course in each semester. As a general guide, you should expect a workload of three hours outside of the classroom for each hour spent in class. The guideline for the total workload for this course is 150 hours per semester and 300 hours for the year.

Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course director, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a Student Academic and Support Adviser as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 20/01/2020 02:20 p.m.